Compensating-truck.



W. FERRIS.

GQMPENSATING TRUCK. APPLIOATION HLED P51241. 191s.

Patented Oct. '7, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. FERRIS. GOMPBNS'ATING TRUCK. -A1)PLIGATION FILED 113.17, 191s4 Patented Oct. '7, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2..

W. PERRIS. COMPENSATING TRUGK. Arrmqg'non rum) 23.17. 1913..

3. man3. 1m 7B 7H S maf 0m dun mw. Haj t um FU A\ Hillll WALTER FERRIS, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

CMPENSATNGLTRUCK.

inmune;

Specification of Letters Patent,

itat-ented (let. E, llnl.

Application led February 17, 1913. Serial lilo. 748,947.

able-others skilled inthe art to which it ap pertains in make an'duse the sin' e.

rlhis invention relates to V"supporting trucks vvhich are-used in conjunction with large portable pieces of machinery to support'and propel the same on a suitable traek Way.

Heretof'ore pile drivers, derricks, steam shovels and the like have usually been supported on two trucks which were provided Witheertain compensating means for ei'ectingan equal distribution of the load on the four wheels of each truck. lt has been found advantageous in the case of the larger maelinesto use four trucks instead ot' two, and to provide a four rail traekway upon which said trucks are propelled. It is apparent that'when four trucks are used the problem ot'equalizing the load becomes more complicated; T he present invention aims to pro-vide ai' truck whose novel' eonstruetion thoroughly adaptsit to such a use. A eopen'ding application, Ser. No; 748,936, filed Feb'. 17, 1913, discloses the use of the 'improved truck in combination with a portable steam shovel.

n furtherance of this main object and otherobijects which will appear as the specification proceeds, the invention consists in mounting a suitable, supporting' framework on the two axles of the, truck, in such manner'that each ot the said axles can move out of the horim-mtnl plane of the two axles. The supporting framework is adapted to support its share of the machine at u suit'- able' center bearing. The whole truck is therefore capable oit' a bodily movement out of the horizont-.1l plaine without imparting sueh movement to the n'melline which it supports. As the four wheels olf eheh truelrare not compelled to remain in the same horizontal plane, it is obvious that inequalities of the track will not tend to throw the weight on' two -wheels of' each truck, as would be thel case if the four Wheels had to more in unison. The load 1, is therefore equal-ly" distributed i toI the" fou r Wheels oteach truck. A novel form of driving means t0 propel the true-k is usedA in furtherance of Certain other objects of the invention. W'hen the machine body is mounted on the four trucks in the manner set forth in the eri-pending' application referred to, the load is etlieiently distributed to the four trucks.

In the more detailed description of the invention which is to follow, reference is made to the accompanying' drawings, butit will be understood that only one form of the invention is illustrated therein and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope ot the invention, as delined in the claims.

ln the di'aivinggs:-ll`igii1e l is a top plan view of a lruek eonstrueted according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing' the manner of transmitting motion to the truck wheels. Fig. is an end vieW oi' the improved truck. and Fig. l is a seetional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. l.

Throughoiit these several views, like ret erence characters refer to corresponding parts;

The front and rear axles of the truck are designated by the reference numerals 1' and 2, respectively, on which are forced or keyed the wheels 3. preferably having flanges on eau-h side of the Wheel as shown at l to `:ruido the sume along n, suitable traekway, two rails of which are represented by the numerals and G. Said rails 5 and G constitute one side of the traekway, the other side consisting' of similarly positioned rails upon which the opposite truck runs.

Supported by the two axles l and 2 is a suitable framework or supporting member 7 mounted upon said axles at three points as ollows:-l`l1e front ol` the iframe Y is mounted on the axle l, at two points 8 and 9. Suitable beariiigrl blorks 10 and .ll engage the axle at these points. They are preferably made ofcast iron with a lining ot' Rabbit. metal where the bearing; block engages the axle, These blocks tit in boxes l2 preferably cast integral with the frame 7, as clearly shown in 2 and lo To clamp the frame down upon the axle and toI set-ure the bearing blocks l0 and l1 in place, hearing caps 13 are provided which encircle the underside of the axle and are secured to the frame 7 by suitable means such as bolts lll. The bearing caps 13 have biureated extremities into which lit suitable web portions` 15 cast integrally with the framework 7. The arms 16 of each bifurcated extremity of the bearing caps are secured to the said web portions l'by means of the bolts 14 and the nuts 17. Preferably, the bearing caps 13 are made hollow or semi-annular in shape, so that the web portions 18 will engage the ends ofthe bearing blocks and the central hollow portion will serve as receptacles for retaining a 'packing or a body of waste and oil to feed the bearing surface of the block 11 with lubricant. As the frame 7 is supported at only two points on the front axle', it is unnecessary to make the front of said framework of solid construction. For this reason, the frame at the front portion preferably consists of two diverging arm portions 19 and 20, as clearly shown in Fig. l, the bearing blocks 10 and 1l being carried by the boxes on the said diverging arms 19l and 20 respectively.`

The rear portion of the framework 7 preferably converges toward a point at which it is supported on the rear axle 2. The framework at this point carries a box 2l similar to the boxes 12, which engage the front bearing blocks. Fitted in said box 21 is a bearing block 22 similar to the bearing blocks here inbefore described. The rear axle 2is preferably constructed of a slightly larger diameter than the front axle and is provided with the circular flanges 23 to prevent lateral movement of the frame 7. A bearing cap 24 of similar construction to the ones hereinbefore described is used to clamp the rear of the framework down upon the rear axle thereby holding the bearing blocks in position. Said cap 24 is made semi-annular in shape and is provided with the web portions 25 adapted to be closely positioned to the web portions 2G of the framework to allow for the insertion of suitablev securing bolts 27. In order to permit the rear axle to tilt transversely of the track, the top surface of the bearing block 22 is slightly rounded. The framework which rests upon said rounded surface is therefore free to rock upon the same or conversely, the bearing block which must necessarily tilt with the rear axle can rock relatively to the framework 7. From this construction, it is obvious that the front and rear-axle need not always remain in the same'horizontal plane and, consequently, the wheels carried by said axles are free to move out of their horizontal plane. Inequalities of the track will, therefore, not tend to throw the load on two wheels of each truck, would be the case if the axles were carried in such relation to the frame that the tilting would have to be done in unison.

The preferred form of dri ving means used is preferably as follows :-I`he mid portion of the frame 7 preferably depends and is constructed to accommodate a shaft 28 jour- Lore-,oef

naled in said' depending portion of t-he frame, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Intermediate the ends of said shaft is secured a sprocket 29 adapted to be driven from any suitable source of power by meansof a chain as diagrammatically represented at 30 in Fig. 2. Rigidly secured'to one extremity of said shaft is a pinion 31 which meshes with the gears 32 preferably formed directly on two of the flanges of two of the corresponding wheels of each truck. In order to prevent the axles from turning in a horizon tal plane and thereby unmeshing or bindingthe pinion 31 and lthe gears 32, the tie-rods 33 are provided which are secured to the front and rear axles in any convenient manner, as by means of the collars 34 slipped over the extremities lof the axles and prevented from working 0H the same by means of the insertion of suitable retaining pins or cotter pins through the holes 35 roperly positioned in the extremities of tlie front and rear axles. The tiesrods 33.are inserted through said collars 34 and heldin place by the nuts 3G screwed on the threaded extremities 37 of the tie-rods. By this construction, the axles are free to turn within the collars, but the tie-rods prevent any relative movement of the two axles in a horizontal plane.

The top of the framework may be constructed to suit, different requirements, since the type of the machine body supF ported on said frame 7 will slightly alter the circumstances and it may be desirable to support said machine body on the framework 7 in various ways. Where it is desirable to allo-w the truck to support its share of the weight of the machine body at a central point, a center bearing` socket 38 is provided in whichiits a suitable cen* ter bearing carried by the machine body. As said center bearing will have a ballshaped extremity to cooperate with the center bearing socket 38, it is obvious that the truck can tilt bodily out of the horizontal plane without imparting motion to the machine body.

By locating the sprocket 29 at the center of the truck, it is apparent thatthe pull of the sprocket chain will not tend to prevent the truck from swiveling as the machine makes a curve. he feature of transmitting the motion directly to the tianges of two wheels of the truck insures a compact construction wherein the drive is direct and transmitted throughout by good, substantial parts. In most cases, it is usually desirable to apply the driving force to only the 'two rear trucks and consequently, the front trucks used in such a construction need not be provided with the various driving elements hereinbefore described. The

' frame mounted at three points directly on said axles, bearing boxes associated with the frame at the pointsvof support of said frame, bearing yblocks in said boxes, and bearing' caps encircling the under side of the axle beneath said'bearing blocks and secured to said frame.

2. A truck for large portable machines comprising front and rear axles, a supporting,r frame in which one axle is journaled at two points in the length of said axle and in which the second axle is journaled at a point intermediate the ends of the axle, and a center bearing socket on said supporting frame to be engaged by a suitable bearingr on the machine body.

3. A truck of the class described com-A prising frontI and rear axles, traction wheels carried thereby, a supporting frame supported at three points directly on said axles, a shaft journaled in said supporting frame, a sprocket secured to said shaft and located centrally of the truck, and driving connections between said shaft and said.

traction wheels.

4. A truck of the class described comn prising front and rear axles, traction Wheels carried thereby, a supporting frame supported at three points directly on said axles, a shaft jonrnaled in said. supporting frame, a sprocket secured to said shaft and located centrally of the truck, a pinion secured to one end of said shaft, the two traction Wheels adjacent said pinion having relatively wide flanges, said fianges being toothed and meshing with said pinion.

5. A truck of the kind descrlbed comprising front and rear axles, traction wheelsA secured thereto, relatively Wide flanges on two of saidv wheels, said anges being toothed, a supporting frame mounted at three points directly on said axles, a shaft journaled in said frame, a sprocket secured to said shaft located centrall of the truck, a pinion on said shaft mes ing with said toothed fianges, and means to prevent said axles frorn turning relatively to each other in a horizontal plane.

In testimony whereof l ax my signa nature, in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER FERRS.

Witnesses:

H. B. HAYDEN, L. A. BRoNsoN. 

